


Monsters

by NoBrandMinda



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Corrupted Gems, Healing, Post-CYM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 14:30:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19427884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoBrandMinda/pseuds/NoBrandMinda
Summary: An unlikely former enemy asks Lapis Lazuli to help a struggling corrupted gem adjust to her new life.





	Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the artwork of Cultivation Artisan. https://cultivationartisan.tumblr.com/post/185194411364/some-sketches-from-when-phantom-fable-came-out

Lapis didn’t think anything of heavy footsteps lumbering into the newly rebuilt barn. Bismuth had been a constant presence these past few weeks as she, Lapis, and Peridot had finished turning Greg’s farm into a safe haven for the newly healed Crystal Gems. The barn was otherwise empty at the moment, but Lapis was used the sound of her new barnmates coming and going as they pleased. Her attention stayed on her and Peridot’s latest meep-morp - a shapeless mass of timbers from the old barn that they were sure could be made to represent… something significant - until an all too familiar gruff voice spoke up from the doorway.

“Hey.” 

Lapis froze in place. Part of her contemplated lashing out without preamble, or else dragging the visitor out of the barn and taking her someplace where the recovering Crystal Gems would be safe from her. Instead, Lapis forced herself to relax. If Steven thought Jasper deserved a second chance, then Lapis could at least humor her for the length of one conversation.

“What do **_you_ **want?” asked Lapis stiffly, not taking her eyes off of her art project.

“Um… can we talk?” Jasper sounded almost… sheepish. It was a tone Lapis would never have imagined coming from the rasping voice. “I have a favor to ask.”

Lapis’ head snapped around, and she glared over her shoulder at Jasper, who was still sticking very close to the doorway.

“It’s not for me!” Jasper added quickly, her hands held up placatingly, “It’s one of my gems. She’s having trouble adjusting. I think you can help her.”

Lapis finally turned around to face Jasper fully and folded her arms in consideration. Not all of the un-corrupted gems were staying at the barn. Some Crystal Gems had felt betrayed by the news that Rose Quartz had been Pink Diamond all along, and had ventured off on their own somewhere. Some simply wanted to be left alone, regardless of which side they had fought in during the war. A number of gems were corrupted while loyally fighting for Homeworld and had since rallied around Jasper. That group made Lapis nervous, but Steven had insisted that they leave them alone and let them figure out what they wanted to do with their new lives.

“Why me?” asked Lapis.

“She’s a pearl who was abandoned on Earth when the planet was evacuated. Thought maybe you could rela-”

“Stop,” Lapis raised one hand. Jasper obediently snapped her mouth shut. “You’re not in my head anymore. You don’t get to pretend to be.” Jasper broke eye contact for a moment, but made no move to leave the barn. When it was clear that Jasper was standing her ground, Lapis gave a drawn out sigh. “Why is it so important that **_I_ ** help her? You must have known that this,” Lapis waved her hand at the space between the two of them, “was going to be a problem.”

“Well,” said Jasper, considering her words carefully. “She was alone for a long time, and now that she’s… awake, she’s having trouble getting used to looking like,” Jasper gestured vaguely at the horns protruding from her head. The teal clashed horribly with her usual orange and red color scheme. “ _'_ _Like a monster.'_ Her words. Not mine,” Jasper finished.

“I don’t think you’re a monster _because you have horns_ ,” said Lapis, the corner of her lip twisting.

Jasper let out a low growl. The sound that came out of her throat was not entirely human. Still, she swallowed the veiled insult and plunged forward. “I know _that’s_ not what makes someone a monster,” said Jasper, staring hard at Lapis. Lapis glared back. The air between them grew dangerously still. “BUT,” said Jasper, trying to get the conversation back on track, “I’ve been having a hard time getting her to see that.”

Lapis quirked her head slightly, and then burst out a snort of genuine laughter.

Jasper opened and closed her mouth several times. She had not expected this reaction.

“You want ME,” spat out Lapis in between fits of laughter, “to teach someone ELSE how to appreciate themselves? Ha ha ha! What do you think I’ve been trying to FIGURE OUT ever since Steven rescued me?!” All the mirth disappeared from Lapis’ voice in an instant. “Being fused to somebody who hates fusion for months really _helped_ with that by the way, so wow thanks!”

Jasper bit back the urge to say, “You’re welcome.” There were any number of things she wanted to shout back at Lapis. How she had held Malachite together for so long against Jasper’s will. How Jasper knew that Lapis had enjoyed fighting the Crystal Gems almost as much as she did. But Jasper hadn’t come here to pick a fight.

“I’m sorry,” said Jasper, finally. “Look, this,” Jasper waved her hand just as Lapis had a moment ago, “isn’t something we’re going to fix today. I’m just here to ask you to teach Pearl how to fly.”

This time Lapis was at a loss for words. “I… what?”

“When she was corrupted she turned into some kind of… bug… thing. I think she called it a moth? Rose Quarrr... Pink- Steven. Steven would know more about it than me.”

Lapis suppressed the urge to snort again. Steven was and always had been just “Steven” to her, so watching everyone else trip over themselves trying to decide what to call him gave her some small amusement. 

“She still has her wings in her new form. I’ve seen her get a little bit of lift with them even, but she doesn’t know how to use them yet. Flying was always my fav- I mean… I think it would cheer her up.”

Lapis looked at Jasper thoughtfully. “Flying isn’t going to help her get away from her problems. Trust me.”

“It’s not about that. It’s about accepting who she is so she knows the rest of us do too. I don’t want her feeling lonely when she doesn’t have to.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” In truth, Lapis had wanted to help from the moment Jasper first described the Lonely Pearl, but the quartz soldier’s sudden appearance had put Lapis on edge. “Where can I find her?”

\--

Lapis found herself flying above an ancient gem library, partially flooded after millennia of disuse. After a few minutes scouting around, Lapis found what she was looking for. Sitting in the middle of a high balcony, a lone figure sat curled up in a ball staring vacantly into the sky.

Lapis swooped in low trying not to startle her, but the Lonely Pearl paid her no attention. She didn’t even seem to notice when Lapis perched on the edge of the balcony a few meters in front of her.

“Hey,” said Lapis, gently.

Pearl snapped out of her daze and turned towards Lapis in surprise. A curtain of cream colored hair covered her eyes, but a pair of feathery antennae on top of her head angled themselves in Lapis’ direction. Pearl gave a small yelp of surprise and tried to back pedal away from the sudden visitor. She had two too many arms, and when she tried to brace herself against the ground to stand, she planted one of her hands on the edge of her cape and brought herself tumbling back down to the ground in a tangle of limbs. No, not a cape, Lapis realized. The material coming out of her back was a pair of wings folded together behind her. One of her great beige wings unfurled and fluttered uselessly above her as she tried to work out which arm needed to go where in order to lift herself back up.

After a moment, she gave up and simply covered her face with all four of her hands, “Don’t look at me!” she shouted, although with her soft voice it came out in little more than a stage whisper.

Lapis pumped her wings once and landed right in front of the cowering Pearl, holding out her hand. “It’s alright.”

Pearl peaked up at the angelic figure above her - hand outstretched, watery wings spread out behind her. 

Lapis caught a glimpse of a beautiful brown eye hiding behind Pearl’s bangs. “I heard you could use some flying lessons.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a short little ficlet I came up with after talking about Lonely Pearl from the recent SU mobile game with some friends. I have some follow-up ideas for where Lapis, Jasper, and Lonely Pearl could go from here, but odds are this is as far as I'm going to go with it.


End file.
